captions by: caption colorado, llc (800) 775-7838 comments@captioncolorado.com from washington, "the mclaughlin group," the american original. for over two decades, the sharpest minds, best sources, hardest talk. "the mclaughlin group" is brought to you by siemens. siemens answers america's toughest questions in energy. one, democrat exodus. >> it just came to the point where i said, i've accomplished all i'm going to do. time to make the break. >> michigan senator announced last week he would not seek a tenth term in office. bob stupak had been expected to

win handily in the coming november mid-term election. instead, stupak is stepping down. stupak is one of 24 democrats retiring this year. 19 from the house. davis, barry, snyder, watson, els worth, moore, delahunt, stupak, kennedy, gordon, tanner, baird, massa, wexler, abercrombie, and five from the senate. dodd, dorgan, botch, kaufmann. the climate for democrats seems to have been a toxic one. the party is now polling at l-t question. what explains the exodus of leading democrats like senator dodd? is this a case of rats leaving a sinking ship? >> well, dodd's got a particular problem. he really could have lost that seat for the democratic party,

john, but overall, i don't think there's too many democrats retiring, but there is a hellish problem in the democratic party. the president is down to his lowest level. health care reform has gone down ever sips it passed. the polls show the democratic party running for congress at a lower level by four points than it was in 1994 when they got wiped out and lost 52 seats. it is really the slew of despond, and there's real apprehensions because tea party and republicans are very energized. there is one hope for the democrats, and that is sort of bright lights in the national economy, but that's what they've really got to get on to a-- bet on to avoid a disaster in november. >> eleanor? >> the slew of despond is in april. the battleground poll that came out had the president at 50%. the number of retirements are actually fewer than they were in 1994, and the democrats are going to lose seats. but if you compare where

president reagan was and where president clinton was at similar points in their presidency this president is at least eight points higher than either of them were in popularity, and president reagan only lost 26 seats in the house and didn't lose any seats in the senate. president clinton lost the house and the senate. so i suspect president obama would be happy with something in between, and i suspect that's what he'll get. >> you are seeing this mass exodus because a lot of the democrats are seeing the writing on the wall. the writing in the wall is in their own hand. a lot of this is by their own doing. look, the ones that are choosing to remain and run for re-election in november and beyond are really, really worried because they are incredibly vulnerable. when you look at the rasmussen poll, it is unheard of for republicans to be running that far ahead. on the gallop poll shows a four-point spread with republicans running ahead. last time that happened and the

margin was a lot smaller at that time was 1994 when the republicans took over the house. but look, pat's right, the number one issue for most americans is the economy. americans look at the democrats. what have they done over the last 15 or in economic stimulus package that looks like a political act and not an economic act. it had no traction whatsoever. >> you mean because of earmarks? >> yes, payouts to juneens and constituencies. it had no effect on the unemployment. >> hang on a second. >> yeah, right, morton. >> first of all, we can turn this around and say, why aren't republican grandees getting into this race if it's so good? why is tommy thompson not running in with others? they're not. secondly on the economy, i know that obama and the dps won't get much -- democrats won't get much credit for fending off a new great depression but frankly, they did. there was a lot of traction because so much of it went to

the individual states to make up for their declining revenues. final point is all of these congressional races, big losses, big defeats, their they're cyclical. just as they have been, they follow the big strings through republicans in '94. sometime one party goes badly, sometimes the other. the democrats are gonna lose seats. i don't think they will lose a small majority. >> let me get this in. could this be a trap that's being laid by the democrats because they want to build overconfidence in the party of republicans? >> oh, i don't think so. [ all talking at once ] >> you don't think republicans habitually suffer from overconfidence? >> i think the democrats wish it were so, but no. the team cheer for the republicans to set expectations. >> who's gonna get out the vote? who's gonna get out the vote? who's gonna stay home? >> the energy is on the right but some of that is going to be destructive energy. the tea party folks are out

there. if they succeed in some of these primaries, they are going to nominate categories that are too far out for the mainstream. we saw a fascinating profile in the "new york times" basically older white men who love their guns. >> was that a reprint from the "new york times"? didn't they run with that about two weeks ago? >> "usa today" had a similar poll two weeks ago. they get a lot of attention, but they are far from mainstream. >> you know the biggest problem democrats is going to have in one of their secret weapons is retired, andy stern, successful labor leader in this country. he's stepping down. he was a guy who really brought out a lot of democratic field workers, a lot of activists and that's gone. >> here's the key in terms of your question as to where's the energy, fire and passion. obama won because young people came out in record numbers. african-americans came out in record numbers. hispanics came out in very high numbers. these three constituencies did not come out in 2009.

the people that are are white, working class, tea party, republicans, energized. >> they're employed and making a lot more money than the rest. >> excuse me, please relinquish. remember that? please relinquish. exit question. which party has the political momentum headed into november, the democrats with their health care bill in hand or the republicans, who has the momentum? >> that is a joke question. the democrats have nothing going for them. republicans have it all. the question is how far they're gonna go. >> because they are impassioned, they want to get to this. >> the outparty always has the election. the economy is the frame that this election will be fought against, and "newsweek" magazine's cover this week was the recovery, "america is back." there are a lot of positive indications. >> well, which you've got -- >> we've had one special

election on health care and that was the one in florida. some republicans are saying we're going to do another massachusetts turn around, not at all. >> you can talk about the recovery, and i hope that this is, in fact, true, but whuf nearly 10% unemployment and total unemployment rate of nearly 20% that is the most politically toxic element going into november. >> who's got the momentum? >> what a difference two years makes because two years ago barack obama and the democrats had all of the enthusiasm on their side. now all of the republicans, why, because -- >> the answer is republicans have the momentum. have the momentum. when we come back, somewhere in america... the slightest breeze harbors immense power. the tallest buildings leave the lightest footprints. a fifty-ton train makes barely a mark on the environment. and a country facing climate change finds climate solutions. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions.

and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers.

the risk-takers. the visionaries. the entrepreneurs... who put it all on the line to build and run their own businesses. at at&t, we know something about that. our company started out in a small lab, with not much more than a dream. and today, we know it's small businesses that can create the jobs america needs. that's why at&t is investing billions to upgrade and build out our wired and wireless networks. making them faster, smarter, and more secure. connecting small businesses to markets across the country, and around the world. we invest now, because we know it will pay off... with new jobs, new growth, from a new generation, putting their belief in the future on the line. now is the time for investment and innovation.

the future is waiting. and the future has always the future is waiting. and the future has always been our business. at&t. the ones who put the name on the list. >> was she at the dinner? april, april, calm down. just take a deep breath for one second. this happens with my son, he does the the same thing. [groans ] being serious. >> and i'm giving you a serious

answer. >> robert gibbs as white house secretary, been at the president's side since the obama presidency began 15 months ago. the job of white house press secretary requires a good working relationship with the white house press corps. that relationship is now perceived as far from harmonious. the press sees gibbs as smug, sarcastic, and disliked, if you believe the remarkable reporting on gibbs behavior in a front page four column out of six above the fold 2500 word recap by reporter horowitz in the influential "washington post." and the press/gibbs relationship is ted to be -- said to be degenerating by the day so much so they are expected to meet with exchange availability. unlike other press secretaries, pat, who would make rounds of

calls to reporters as they neared deadlines, gibbs is notoriously tough to get on the phone. his is a little low qis are full of "first and foremost," and "i will say this." and he relies on escape hatch promises to check and get back to you, unquote. then there's this. check out the web, the white house. it all turns out to be a suite of social networking tools. youtube, white house tt gov, twitter that mixes noin vation. on the morning of march 12, gibbs broke major news in a twitter message "the president will delay leaving for indonesia in australia will now leave sunday, the first lady and the girls will not be on." is gibbs the real target of the washington press corps ire or is it the president himself who is in the cross hairs? >> i think it's three things in turn. first of all it is the president in the cross hairs. secondly, gibbs has the look of

a man who's been there too long. he's not enjoying the job. thirdly, the press corps has always been unhappy and in particular getting unhappy because the press is losing stract traction, leadership and prestige. >> the press corps is mostly mainstream media and they resent the white house using all these other tools to reach the american public. the white house is 17 million followers on twitter. so when they announce something like that, a tidbit like that, they toss out they get a lot of reward for it. the press corps is rightfully frustrated that the president hasn't had a fres press conference -- press conference since july. he hasn't had one because the american people doesn't seem to be clamoring for it. it distracts from the message he wants. we're in a media transformation. there are all kinds of different ways to reach the people. president reagan was famous for going over the edge of the white house. >> do you think it's dangerous

for the nation to have a movement away from a question, live question and answer of the president but for the white house to put it on the web where everything is controlled? >> no i don't. >> the president likes control. he uses the teleprompter whenever he can, and in this situation, it is strictly as dictated on twitter. >> john, my view was then and i believe it was ours, look, he's been elected president of the united states. he has to communicate with the american people. he decides when, where, and how is best for him to communicate. is it through the press corps almost always? it is not. what you are getting -- >> you mean, by speech? >> the press corps is a filter and quite frankly, do you it directly if you can. >> is there any subinstitute for that? is there any problem substitute for q and a? [ all talking at

once ] >> isn't there something there that is needed? >> the press adored jack kennedy. i was at one of those things. they loved him. >> so did the nation. >> reagan was not good at the press conferences. >> so what, so therefore you eliminate press conferences? >> he communicates. he wants to communicate. it's his decision. >> what is the story? how serious is this matter? >> i would like to see the president do a formal press conference more often. when he first came that office he was doing it all the time to the point we were talking about whether or not he was overexposed. then when health care started going down the road and the economy wasn't improving, he put gibbs in as the stand-in. the problem is the white house press corps just like nationally for the most part not everybody, but for the most part in the press, they have become so invested in promoting and protecting obama that they don't want to attack him directly so they are leveling their ire at gibbs. now, gibbs certainly fed into it because he is petty and sarcastic with them and with

everybody else. he's not exactly the best spokesperson. >> that kind of banter has gone on in the white house press room forever, and there is say natural tension between the press corps and the white house. the press corps wants to know things the white house doesn't want them to know. they think everything the white house puts out is advertising, and so you don't have people over there protecting the president. you have them desperately trying to find out what's going on. >> do you not see the value of human interaction and finding out what this man is really like or this woman -- >> as a journalist, you bet i do. part of the reason for this is that you don't have a real live questioning opposition in this country because you don't have something like question time. >> you don't have the tony blair. >> exactly. what's more, you've got a press corps which is losing readers, losing viewers. in other words, you've got a white house press corps that's withering on the vine. >> if we rely on the computer to furnish us with news about the white house, isn't that really perilous for the nation? >> it would be.

>> you know where obama stopped the press con presences? >> yeah, he wants control. >> at the end of it, somebody asked him about sergeant crawly, and he went out and stepped on a land mine, and it blew up. that burned the guy and the cat won't sit on the stove again. >> is it bigger than it sounds or smaller? >> smaller than you've made it. >> he's communicating -- >> bigger than it sounds? >> i think it's big for this reason because obama promised the most transparent white house in american history -- >> right. >> and he failed to deliver that. >> is it a constitutional right? >> he's delivering it. >> is it a trutional right -- constitutional right? >> sure, but they have to be able -- >> there's no press. it's the computer. it's the white house feed it one way. >> it's not just the press it's fewer readers of the press, fewer viewers of the press. the entire nature has shifted. >> the more the white house can move it in that direction -- >> the computer.

controlled speech. >> they will -- >> only my son -- >> we live in the digital age and they are communicating in the way that more and more people are receiving communication. >> maybe this time. >> i believe president bush had seven full fledged press conferences. i didn't hear a lot of complaints about that. maybe into it. issue three, no moon landing. >> i am 100% committed to the mission of nasa and its future. >> on thursday, president obama was at the kennedy space center in cape canaveral, florida, and he unveiled his vision for the future of nasa, responsible for the nation's space program. primary features, item, budget, $6 billion added to the existing $20 billion budget spread over the next five years. item, private companies taking over space flight programs. item, robotic technology with a

solar system exploration program using robots. so what's out? no landing on the moon by astronauts. and no more humans in space except for at least 20 years. the constellation program to put astronauts back on the moon has about $110 billion left, but it's been zeroed out. the original moon walkers, neil armstrong joined by his fellow astronauts had an open letter criticizing the president for killing the program. they argued that "for the united states, the leading space nation for nearly half a century with no human exploration capability to go beyond earth orbit destines our nation to become one of second or even third rate stature. without the skill and experience that actual spacecraft operation provides, the usa is far too likely to be

on a long downhill slide to mediocrity." but neil armstrong's crew mate, buzz aldrin, defends the obama plan. >> people with patience, with an open mind and willingness to listen would understand that this is a doable, exciting program. >> is this the same story? depression of the individual of the human entity and going to a machine that they think they can control? >> no. >> is this something a hume condition do in that position as an astronaut as armstrong says that a machine cannot do? >> no. he's saying we're not going to go to the moon again, that we're going to think about sending manned spaceships into the orbit of mars and eventually on mars with a gold date of 2035. >> 20 years from now -- >> because the current program wasn't working and had severe

cost overruns. and we don't have the money to fritter away to go to the moon again. [ all talking at once ] >> the interest of the per pet wation of the nasa program to have a humeen in space. is it not because the investment of people in the operation is therefore real? where if it's a machine only it will evaporate and the budget will evaporate? >> i agree. it's a question of the human spirit. we've got to send ourselves up there. besides, if the united states don't, the chinese sure as hell will. that's a really important factor. beyond that we've simply got to decide whether this country is going to be part of the world's future or not. >> there you go, pat. >> mort is exactly right. in the 1950s and '60s, we had a great space program. nobody was on food stamps. now we've got 36 million people on food stamps. >> so food stamps -- >> monica get in here fast. let monica get in here. >> our national space program is a symbol of american

exceptionalism. i know the economy is in dire straits but we have to continue down the road of manned space flights. jfk1961 said we'll put a man on the moon. >> the answer is, the robot has its limits and we should respect those limits. >> 's sending a man -- we'll be right back with predictions. >> you are relying on russian and french rockets. when planning for retirement these days, the forecast is full of ifs. if i'm too exposed to downturns. if i'll go through my savings too fast. to help you feel more confident consider putting a portion of your savings in a metlife variable annuity. when the market goes up, it gives your assets a potential to grow. while protecting you if the market goes down with a steady stream of income. let america's number one annuity provider help you stay on course with guarantees for the if in life. get answers about annuities at metlife.com.

somewhere in america... there's a home by the sea powered by the wind on the plains. there's a hospital where technology has a healing touch. there's a factory giving old industries new life. and there's a train that got a whole city moving again. somewhere in america, the toughest questions are answered every day. because somewhere in america, more than sixty thousand people spend every day answering them. siemens. answers.

answering them. siemens. somewhere in america... there's a home by the sea powered by the wind on the plains. there's a hospital where technology has a healing touch. there's a factory giving old industries new life. and there's a train that got a whole city moving again. somewhere in america, the toughest questions are answered every day. because somewhere in america, more than sixty thousand people spend every day answering them. siemens. answers. now pay just $99.99 a month for verizon fios tv, internet and phone -- guaranteed for two years! it's an amazing offer that could save you hundreds of dollars. call now to lock in this guaranteed low price for two years. with 100% true fiber optics to your home, fios delivers the future and gives you more of what cable doesn't. the best channel lineup and more hd. america's top-rated internet.

even facebook and twitter on your tv. enjoy a bigger, better entertainment experience. and the peace of mind that comes from knowing you'll pay the same low price year after year. call now and you'll also get a free dvr for 6 months. get it all for just $99.99 a month with a two-year agreement -- a price guaranteed for two years! don't wait. call 1-877-4fiostv. that's 1-877-4fiostv. this is beyond cable. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities this is fios. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. predictions, pat, ten secondsp. >> democrats will take big losses but that will mean a lot of changes in the cabinet a lot of changes in the white house. >> like who? >> well, would i say eric holder would be one, maybe, john. >> eleanor? >> i suspect eric holder stays and i think john mccain will handily win his primary, eliminating the competition from the right.

>> last week at the nuclear summit, president obama snubbed the nuclear president. watch for vladimir putin to renew his aggression against the state of georgia. >> wow. >> watch for revolution in british politics after the first american star tv debate. nick clegg leader of the democrats walk add way with the honors. that party is going to be the kingmakers opinion forget about it, keep your eye on this third party. >> really? i predict eric holder will step down by mid-summer. don't forget to friend us on facebook and follow us on twieter. bye-bye. years from now, how will we look back on today?

as the great recession? or as the recession that made us great? allstate has seen twelve recoveries. but this one's different. because we're different.

we realized our things are not as important... as the future we're building with the ones we love. protect yours. put it... in good hands. ♪